Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he is suspending his campaign for the presidency while in in Phoenix on Friday. Kennedy went on to endorse Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and blamed attacks from the Democrats for his moves. Photo by David Blakeman/EPA-EFE
Aug. 25 (UPI) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., blaming media censorship for driving him from the 2024 race, said Sunday he plans to campaign for Republican resident nominee Donald Trump.
“I’m going to be campaigning actively,” he said on Fox News on Sunday. “I think President Trump is going to make a series of announcements about other Democrats who are joining his campaign. And … I want to make America healthy again, and so does President Trump,”
On Friday, Kennedy suspended his campaign, announced his endorsement of Trump and then appeared at a rally with the former president in Glendale, Ariz.
Kennedy said he thought he could have gotten more media coverage.
“When Ross Perot ran, in the 10 months that he ran, he had 34 appearances on the networks,” Kennedy said on Fox News. “I had two appearances in 16 months, so I was blocked out of the networks, and I was blocked out of the debate. I had no path to victory.”
Perot was a third-party candidate in 1992, appearing in the debates between Bill Clinton and President George H. W. Bush. Clinton won and Perot earned 18.9% of the popular vote.
Kennedy said when he suspended his campaign that he could no longer ask his staff to put time and effort into his bid for the White House.
“I cannot in good conscience ask my staff and volunteers to keep working their long hours or ask my donors to keep giving when I cannot honestly tell them that I have a real path to the White House,” he said Friday.
Kennedy said supporting Trump would be a difficult sacrifice but one that would be worth it if any of his goals could be accomplished.
Kennedy said Trump had been talking to him about a possible role in a Trump administration and that the GOP presidential nominee had been talking about creating a unity government, specifically saying the pair talked about the war in Ukraine, preventing censorship and promoting children’s’ health.
His wife, actress Cheryl Hines, isn’t pleased with his decision, Kennedy said on X. He said he was not “terminating” his campaign, merely suspending it, meaning he will remain on the ballot in some noncompetitive states.
Kennedy is the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of John F. Kennedy, Jr.
His announcement was met with disapproval by other members of his politically famous family, who in a statement called it “a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear.”
RFK Jr. said: “My family is — I understand that they’re troubled by my decisions. I love my family. I feel like we were raised in a milieu where we were encouraged to debate each other and debate ferociously and passionately about things and still love each other.
“They’re free to take their positions on these issues. There are many, many members of my family working at my campaign and who are supporting me.”
Trump has said he welcomes Kennedy’s support.
In one key issue, Kennedy says “abortion should be legal up until a certain number of weeks, and restricted thereafter.”
Trump said it is up to the states to decide legality of abortions.
Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio senator, said during a campaign stop Saturday that Trump would veto a federal abortion ban if Congress passes a bill. The former president’s stance on abortion has changed over the years.
Polls show that the race has tightened substantially in key battle ground states since President Joe Biden stepped down and was replaced with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate.
Trump has campaign appearances scheduled in Wisconsin on Tuesday and in Pennsylvania on Friday with Vance in Michigan on Tuesday.
Harris and running mate Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota resume their campaign bus tour Wednesday in southern Georgia with a rally planned Thursday in Savanah.